When Lee and Michaels took a break from their joint headline tour to visit a gun range in North Carolina on July 11th they were snapped posing with some mighty formidable firearms.

But now North Carolina cops are investigating because the state's law bans ANYONE – even aging rockers— who has been convicted of a felony from purchasing, owning, or controlling a firearm.

Back in 1998, Tommy Lee was jailed for four months after pleading no contest to stomping then-wife Pamela Anderson.

Local TV station WSOC-TV contacted authorities and informed them of the rockers' trip to the shooting range.

That’s when cops got busy – launching their investigation into the gun imbroglio.

Michaels and Lee were reportedly unaware of committing any offense, and were even accompanied to the firing range by officers from the Rowan County Sheriff's Office, Salisbury and Spencer police departments.

"The sheriff and local police chiefs didn't know about it until we brought it to their attention,” a WSOC-TV rep said. “It could be illegal if any of those men have criminal records that prohibits them from using guns."

Thanks to the TV station’s drumbeating, federal agents from The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms are now investigating the incident.